


Unleashed Mind

by nepenthe_writer



Series: WinterIron Bingo [20]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Bucky Barnes's Trigger Words, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-01-27 07:35:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21388456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nepenthe_writer/pseuds/nepenthe_writer
Summary: Bucky believes that with Tony's help he has escaped Hydra's mind control over him. On a mission Hydra proves that might not quite be the case.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Series: WinterIron Bingo [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1374691
Comments: 18
Kudos: 91
Collections: WinterIron Bingo 2019





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Square: G1 - Trigger Words for the WinterIron Bingo

Fucking Hydra. It was always the damn Nazi organization. They were the cockroach of the world. Every time you thought you had stamped them out it turned out there was another branch just waiting in the shadows for their turn at attempted world domination. Frankly Tony was getting sick of it. Sure he knew Steve and Bucky probably had far more of a reason to hate Hydra then he did but that didn’t mean that they weren’t on his shit list as well.

Right now the Avengers were trekking through the Rocky Mountains trying to find exactly where the surge of power had come from that had been big enough for Shield to register. Anything that big couldn’t be good. Because they had only been able to narrow the range down to a fifty mile radius there was a lot of ground to cover which meant that the team was split up into pairs to try and cover more ground faster. They had regular check ins so that whichever pair found the base first would get backup as soon as they possibly could. Hydra wasn’t anything to mess around with and they were always stronger as a team.

Tony and Bucky had been paired up together to explore a cave system in the side of the mountains to see if Hydra was storing any equipment there. If that were the case Tony would be the best able to get into any computer that they found to recover data and Bucky would be able to act as a lookout to keep any potential Hydra operatives occupied. If those operatives ended up in worse shape than they started, well that was what they got for joining a Nazi organization bent on taking over the world.

“I feel useless,” Bucky grumbled as he and Tony made their way along the side of a cliff to check out the promising cave system carved into the side of the mountain. “Seventy years with Hydra and I can’t tell you where the base is or what they have here.”

“Don’t sweat it Buckaroo,” Tony said as he climbed behind the soldier. “It’s not like you were given all of their top secret information or anything. I read your files when you first joined up with us remember. Being kept on ice meant you didn’t get around much and believe me, none of us blame you for that. We’ll figure this out like we always do.”

Bucky sighed angrily. “I know that. It’s just that I did so much bad while I was their puppet that I wish at least some good could come from it now that I’m free.”

Tony reached out and grabbed onto Bucky’s wrist urging the other man to turn around and face him.

“I know you do Snowflake,” Tony said gently as he ran his thumb back and forth across Bucky’s wrist. “I get wanting to take the bad that’s happened to you and make something better out of it. Something good that you can leave behind as your legacy instead of blood and tears. You are doing all that you can and nobody can or should ask anymore than that from you.”

Bucky glanced down at where Tony was still holding him, enjoying the contact for a moment. The two of them had been dancing around their feelings for a while now as they each tried to figure out what exactly it was that they wanted from the other before making a move. Bucky was pretty sure by now he knew what he wanted. It was just a matter of how to talk to the genius so he didn’t send him running for the hills.

“Thank you Tony,” Bucky whisper, bringing his eyes up to catch Tony’s. “That and everything you’ve done for me means a lot.”

Tony just nodded, nothing more needing to be said in that moment. Discussions about the two of them and where they stood with one another could wait until after Hydra was dealt with and they were back home. Letting go of Bucky’s wrist the two of them made their way into the cave system to see if there was any sign of what Hydra might be up to.

They had been exploring for half an hour when Tony came to a stop looking at a slab of rock wall. “I know geology isn’t one of the scientific areas that I’ve studied extensively but you tell me if that rock right there looks like the same kind as those over there,” Tony pointed out what he meant.

Bucky swiveled his head to check out what Tony meant and agreed that there were some slight differences between the two groups of rocks. The biggest thing that stood out was the scuff marks along the bottom of the rocks where they met the ground. That wasn’t present with normal rock cave formations and was a good indication that Hydra had made some modifications to the area. Tony and Bucky’s eyes met and they shared a wordless discussion on their next course of action.

Setting down his suitcase Tony flicked it open and let his travel armor take shape around him so that he’d be ready for a fight once they found it.

“Iron Man to Cap,” Tony said into his comm link.

“Cap here,” Steve’s voice came through with a bit of static from how deep into the mountain they were. “What do you have?”

“We’re pretty sure we’ve found a secret door leading into the mountain,” Tony apprised Steve of the situation. “It’s definitely not natural and given Hydra’s presence in the area I’d go out on a limb and say it’s them. The Winter Soldier and I are going in to explore and could probably use the backup in case we run into trouble.”

“Affirmative. We’ll reconverge on your location. ETA about fifteen minutes. Be careful in there. Watch each others’ sixes,” Steve ordered before the comms went quiet again.

Tony and Bucky shared another look before Bucky took a few cautious steps over to the out of place rocks. Tony took up a guard position as the soldier felt around the edges of the rocks until his fingers came across the catch that had the slab of rock sliding back easily revealing a passageway behind it.

Both Tony and Bucky peered into the dimly lit tunnel for as far as they could see. Taking a step back Tony clenched a fist and pointed his gauntlet down at the ground sending a concentrated repulsor blast leaving scorch markings in the shape of an X behind.

“X marks the spot,” Tony said as he cut off the blast. “We should leave the door open behind us but this way if it gets closed the others will know where to come.”

Bucky nodded in agreement and took a step towards the hidden tunnel. “Age before beauty now. I’ll take point and you cover our escape. No sense in letting Hydra sneak up behind us.”

Quietly the two of them made their way down the secret passageway that had been carved into the side of the mountain. The passage wound its way through the rocks with two bends that obscured their view but gave them a chance to examine the way forward from a more secure location as they ventured deeper into Hydra territory.

After a few minutes of walking the passage opened up into a large chamber that was filled with banks of computers and four different doorways that led further into the mountain. There were at least fifteen Hydra goons scurrying around like little ants though it wasn’t clear as to what their current objective was. None of the Hydra goons were the typical scientists that Tony would have expected given the set up. Each person was kitted out with at least two guns each and reminded Tony more of Shield’s Strike Team that had been a Hydra infestation then the engineers that he worked with at SI.

Before Tony or Bucky had a chance to come up with a game plan on how they wanted to handle the situation until backup arrived, the choice was taken away from them. Sirens began blaring and the Hydra goons all grabbed for their guns, taking up defensive positions around the room. The sound of thundering boots followed by flying bullets came up from behind Tony and Bucky forcing them from their hidden position in the hallway to avoid the risk of being shot. Tony’s armor would keep him safe from the bullets but there was only so much that Bucky’s tac gear would do and even with his increased healing factor it was preferable not to get shot in the first place.

Even as they were pushed out into main room they fought back to back, firing at enemies while they tried to find some kind of cover. Despite being as armed as they were, most of the Hydra goons couldn’t hold up against the force that Iron Man and the Winter Soldier combined together were able to produce.

Tony was just starting to think that he and Bucky would be able to make it out of there before backup arrived when the shooting form Hydra stopped suddenly. The rapid change from fighting to silence was enough to catch Tony and Bucky off guard for a moment. It was during that lull that one of the Hydra personnel strode forward. It was clear from his demeanor, the way he carried himself and the way the others around him seemed to step back that told the two Avengers that whoever this new guy was, he was the one in charge and the one that would therefore be the most dangerous.

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t our little soldier come back to us all on his own. What a good Asset you are,” the Hydra minion cooed condescendingly. “All that time with the Avengers and you realized that Hydra is needed for the world to be brought to order and have returned to us.”

Bucky growled and tightened his grip on his gun, hands never wavering as it remained steadily pointed at the Hydra goon. “I’m not your puppet and I’ll never work for you again.”

The man’s grin changed taking on a sickening quality. “We’ll just see about that. You’ll do our work. Whether you are willing doesn’t matter. Желание. Семнадцать. Ржавый. Рассвет. Печь. Девять. Добросердечный. Возвращение на родину. Один. Товарный вагон.”

Bucky flinched as the trigger words were spoken, familiar panic clawing its way up through him with the fear of losing his precious won control all over again. The work Tony had done with him to remove the triggers being put to the final test and proving successful. Bucky was no longer compelled to do another’s bidding at the sound of those hated words. Tony still took a step forward placing himself between Bucky and Hydra as though his physical presence would create a barrier between Bucky and the horrors of his past.

When the man finished speaking Bucky stood there trembling but still completely with his own mind. The failure of the trigger words soon became obvious to Hydra when Bucky’s gun continued to point straight at the enemy and their Asset failed to announce his willingness to comply.

“You really thought that would work?” Tony taunted, giving Bucky a moment to catch his breath and get himself steadied from the attempt to steal his mind once more. “Seriously? You didn’t think that would be one of the first things that we would help him with? Your leash doesn’t work anymore assholes. Bucky here is free to make his own choices and I’m pretty sure it’s not you he’s choosing anymore.”

The Hydra agent scowled when his initial plan fell flat. At first Tony felt pleased that Bucky was safe from being triggered and would never be under Hydra’s control again but as the anger built on the Hydra agent’s face he started to get a bad feeling. Glancing at the clock on the HUD of his suit showed that the rest of the Avengers were still a ways out and he and Bucky were still on their own until then.

“You may have overcome our control words but I wonder if that’s all you did,” the Hydra agent in charge taunted as he stayed out of the way. “Did you get rid of the rest of the triggers as well? What about our kill switch? Couldn’t just let a weapon going off on its own without a way to turn it off if we needed to after all.” 

Bucky felt an icy tendril of fear slither through him at the implicit threat.

“You’re lying,” he accused as he pointed his gun at the agents surrounding him keeping them back. “There are no other words. We got rid of them all.”

The agent smirked. “Is that so? When then I suppose you have nothing to worry about when I say this: sputnik.”

Instantly Bucky’s eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed on the ground in a boneless heap. Tony lunged to catch him so that Bucky wouldn’t strike his head on the way down. The Hydra goons took that moment to renew their attacks.

Lifting his hands Tony shot blast after blast into the crowd trying to keep them back as he stood over the unconscious form of his teammate in order to protect him. Even with the use of the small missiles in his suit it wasn’t enough. This had been meant to be a recon mission only, not to engage with the enemy and Tony’s suitcase armor wasn’t meant for this kind of fight.

“Steve we need backup now!” Tony shouted into his comm link. “Bucky’s down. He’s down and unresponsive. Hydra had some kind of trigger word that we didn’t know about.”

“Copy that Iron Man. We’re on our way. ETA three minutes,” Steve responded instantly.

Tony grit his teeth and fired off another repulsor blast at the Hydra agents crawling out of every crack like the cockroaches he knew they were. Three minutes wasn’t going to be easy but there was no way in Hell that he was going to let them take Bucky back into their nasty little fingers ever again.

He knew that Shield ideally would want the agents captured alive so that they could try and interrogate information from them but if it came down to a choice between their lives and Bucky’s, Tony had absolutely no problem making that decision.

Fighting to hold his ground for as long as he could until his teammates could arrive Tony stood over the fallen man to make sure that none of the Hydra goons could separate them and get their hands on his teammate. Repulsor blasts fired and miniature rockets were let loose to blast into doorways sending rocks crashing down and blocking the entryways to keep more Hydra agents from getting in. Tony had to be careful with that plan however if he didn’t want to bring the whole room down on their heads. It was fighting an uphill battle but it was enough to keep his head above water until the rest of the team could show up.

Three minutes felt like three hours but it did pass and soon the other Avengers were fighting their way into the room and taking care of the rest of the Hydra goons that hadn’t already been put down. As soon as the room was cleared Steve was rushing over as fast as he could, pulling the cowl off of his head as he dropped to his knees beside his best friend.

“What happened?” Steve demanded as he started checking over Bucky’s unconscious form.

Tony popped the faceplate of his helmet up so that Steve would be able to see the fearful look on his face. “I don’t know. They tried using the trigger words to gain control over him but that didn’t work since we had cleared those from his mind. They had another word though. The guy in charge called it a kill switch. Sputnik. As soon as he said it Bucky just collapsed. No warning. Nothing.”

Steve’s expression went from one of concentration to figure out what the problem was so he could start towards solving it to one of abject horror at the position that his friend was still in. After all his time under Hydra’s control and everything that Bucky had done in order to gain back his freedom and his mind, to have it all stripped away with just one word felt like a nightmare come true all over again.

“How many more trigger words are there?” Steve asked desperately, looking to Tony as though he might somehow know the answer.

“I have no idea,” Tony replied helplessly. “I just don’t know.”


	2. Chapter 2

The trip back to the tower was a long and tense ride. As soon as they got back to the tower Bucky was taken immediately to the medical floor to receive as much treatment as they could give him. There weren’t any injuries to speak of but having Bucky laying on the medbay unconscious from something Hydra had done with no clear knowledge as to what would happen when he woke up was unnerving for everyone.

Steve was glued to Bucky’s side and as much as Tony completely and wholeheartedly wanted to take his place he knew that he couldn’t. Not only were Bucky and Steve the best of friends their whole lives but Tony and Bucky hadn’t actually taken any further steps in their relationship moving beyond friendship just yet and now wasn’t the proper time to do that. Tony would just have to wait until Bucky woke up because there was no way that the genius planned on holding back any longer, not when stuff like this could happen at any moment.

“Do you think that B.A.R.F. will be able to help get this trigger word out of his head too?” Steve asked quietly as though he were afraid of waking Bucky up.

“Probably,” Tony agreed. “It worked with the others just fine. Hydra even tried to use those ones first and they had no effect so it should be the same for this one. The more concerning thing is just how many trigger words are left. None of the ones we’ve come across have been in any of the files. We haven’t known that they were there at all until Hydra went to use them. Unless we can find something concrete I’m afraid of what the uncertainty will do to him.”

Steve didn’t respond just continued to watch over Bucky as he laid on the medbay bed completely unconscious. Tony took up a spot on Bucky’s other side. They might not be more than teammates right now despite Tony’s desire for more but that wasn’t going to stop Tony from being there in every way that he could for the soldier that had already gone through so much. Like that, they waited in silence for Bucky to wake back up again.

~

It took just over fourteen hours for Bucky to regain consciousness and it had been a tense fourteen hours for the whole team. With Steve and Tony holding vigil over Bucky and leaving his side only for a quick trip to the bathroom before coming right back, it had fallen on the rest of the team to pick up the slack. No one complained about it. It was something they had all done at one time or another when one of them was hurt.

Bruce was down in his labs looking over the scans that they had taken of Bucky when he was brought in to see if there was anything that could be done right away for him. Nat and Clint worked with Shield to pass along the information that they had gathered about the Hydra base so that the rats wouldn’t be able to scamper back into their little holes. Thor and Sam were left to act as go betweens, passing along messages and making sure that Steve and Tony actually ate something during their vigil.

While they waited Tony kept himself busy looking over the same scans that Bruce was with the idea that there was no such thing as too many eyes on the case. He was comparing Bucky’s current scans to those that had been taken before and after the B.A.R.F. treatment that had removed the previously known trigger words. Tony wanted to see if the use of a new trigger had changed anything in Bucky’s brain in order to try and get ahead of the problem.

At the same time Tony was looking into other avenues of determining just how deep Hydra had gotten their claws into Bucky’s brain. Steve’s question about the possibility of even more unknown triggers being present was a real concern and one that Tony didn’t intend on leaving unsolved.

When Bucky had finally woken up he had a pounding headache and Steve had all but cried in joy to see his best friend awake again. Tony had excused himself to go get the doctor in order to give the two of them a moment together despite the difficulties of walking away. As much as he wanted to confess his affection to the soldier and have that affection returned, now was not the time to do so. He needed to give Bucky a chance to collect himself after the ordeal he had just been through.

Because the trigger word hadn’t done any physical damage to Bucky and there was nothing that they could do in the moment to get rid of it, the doctor had released Bucky from the medbay on the orders to return if more symptoms came up. It hadn’t taken Bucky long from waking up to reaching the same conclusion that both Steve and Tony had that there was no way to know how many more trigger words there might be. As soon as he was released Bucky was out of the bed looking ready to bolt and shut himself up in his room, away from everyone else for fear of hurting them due to the possibility of more trigger words. That fear of himself and what he could be made to do was something that Tony wasn’t about to let stand.

Tony was therefore quick to suggest that Bucky come down to his lab to get his arm checked out before Bucky could run off to hole himself up in his room. It would keep Bucky from spiraling in his own thoughts and surround him with people that cared about him. The hopeful look that Steve had shot his friend’s way, not wanting to see the man shrink back into himself that way that he had when he had first come in to the tower after escaping Hydra, was enough to make Bucky give in to their request.

Down in Tony’s lab Bucky took a seat on the swivel chair that had become his for every time he came down for either maintenance or just to visit Tony while the genius was working. Steve followed behind as though afraid that if he let Bucky out of his sight, Hydra would come and steal him back again. Tony didn’t have the heart to say anything about that when he was feeling much the same way. Instead he pulled out his tools and got to work giving the arm a good once over to make sure that it was still in perfect working order.

When Bucky had relaxed under his hands and the arm had been completely checked over, Tony set his tools aside and faced the two soldiers. He wanted to talk about the research that he had done while Bucky had been unconscious and Tony was sure that it wasn’t going to be an easy conversation.

“So I think I might have an idea on how to handle this new trigger,” Tony said breaking the news as bluntly as he could, like ripping a band-aid off in one go.

That got Bucky and Steve’s attention right away and the other two men turned to give Tony their undivided attention.

“If this was just a matter of getting rid of a trigger it wouldn’t be too big of an issue considering we’ve already done that successfully with the old ones. The issue here is that we didn’t even know that there were anymore trigger words that we needed to worry about,” Tony explained. “We now know about this new one obviously but it opened the door to the question of if there are anymore that we still don’t know about. I was doing some research while you were unconscious and I think I might have come up with a way to figure that out and potentially remove anything that we find all in one go.”

Bucky’s hands clenched and relaxed multiple times as Tony’s words sank in. None of this was easy on the soldier and he just wanted it to all be over and done with. He just wanted to live his life without having an axe hanging over his neck at every waking moment. The only thing keeping Bucky relatively calm right now was his trust in Tony and that the genius would do everything in his power to make sure that Bucky came out of this all right in the end without taking away his choices and free will in the process.

It was that dedication to helping him that had led to Bucky’s feelings for Tony turning less and less platonic as time went on. Maybe when the chance of him turning into Hydra’s little murder doll all over again was finally gone he would be able to talk to Tony about his feelings and know for certain whether they were returned or not instead of just living in hope.

“So what did you find?” Bucky asked, wanting to hear out the idea that might give him the peace of mind that he so desperately craved.

“As much as I hate to rely on something so unscientific,” Tony said with a scrunch of his nose. “I think it might be time to look into something a bit more unconventional. I was doing some research while you were unconscious, reaching out to former colleagues, calling in a few favors, and I think I might have an idea about what to do about this new trigger.”

“What were you thinking?” Bucky asked.

“I know this doctor. Former doctor anyway. He doesn’t practice anymore,” Tony said.

Steve frowned, unable to stop himself from cutting in. “That doesn’t exactly sound very promising.”

Tony shook his head and held up a hand to forestall any other immediate objections. “He still holds a medical license. He was in an accident a few years back and hurt his hands and can’t perform surgery anymore but he was the leading expert in neurosurgery anywhere in the country. He’s forgotten more about what goes on in the brain than most people will learn in their lifetimes.”

“I’ve already had my brain scanned a million times already. What exact would he be able to see that would be able to help that no one else managed?” Bucky asked, looking hopelessly down at his hands clenched in his lap.

Tony took Bucky’s hands between his own, running his thumb over Bucky’s knuckles to try and soothe the other man. “That’s that thing though. Strange, the doctor, well, he’s not just a doctor. When he couldn’t perform surgery anymore he went a bit off the deep end trying to find a way to get his hands back. Went to all the best, travelled all over the world, and apparently he managed to find something because now he’s the Sorcerer Supreme.”

“The what?” Steve asked, his face matching Bucky’s confused expression as well.

“I know,” Tony said with a shrug. “It sounds a bit out there but well, since becoming an Avenger I’ve seen weirder. Apparently there’s a whole society dedicated from protecting the world from magical threats and the Sorcerer Supreme is the one in charge of them. Strange is both a medical doctor and a magician. Between the medical background and the magic that he has I think he might be our best bet of finding if there are any other triggers hidden somewhere in your brain and getting rid of all of them for good.”

Bucky and Steve sat there in stunned silence as they took in Tony’s incredible suggestion of combining science and magic together. It was no secret that Tony wasn’t a big fan of magic and would always extol the virtues of science with its ability to be replicated and follow logical rules over the seemingly ever changing whims of magic and what it could supposedly accomplish. Every time they faced someone that used magic while out on a mission the Avengers got to hear Tony’s thoughts on the subject. The fact that Tony was willing to put those feelings aside spoke volumes to the two soldiers and made them far more willing to listen beyond even what they would have done from the mere fact that Tony was their friend and teammate.

“Can we trust this guy?” Steve asked, needing to know that anyone that would be dealing with his best friend was someone that they could trust without risking Bucky’s safety. His friend’s well being had always been a top priority for Steve and after all the time that they had lost due to Hydra it had become something that was even more important to him.

Tony gave a definitive nod, turning to face Bucky directly. “I’m not saying it will absolutely be the solution that fixes everything because I can’t speak for Strange and what he will say but I do think that it’s our best bet. If it were just a matter of getting rid of the trigger than we already know how to do that. Strange’s help will let us know if there are any others hiding somewhere in your mind so that we can get rid of everything and make sure that Hydra never gets their hands on you ever again.”

“Can’t say I’m really thrilled to have someone else go poking around in my brain,” Bucky said looking down at his hands, tightly clasped to the point that the knuckles were turning white. “But I guess it’s better than the alternative. Not having any idea how many more triggers they might have up there in my brain and what they might do to me, that’s not something I can deal with. I can’t live like that.”

Standing up fast enough to send the chair flying to the ground with a loud crash Bucky started pacing around the lab. “I hate the fact that they still have this control over me. Seventy years not enough? All this time I’ve been away and still with a single word I’m their puppet all over again. When is it all gonna end?”

With a roar of anger Bucky cocked his left arm back before sending his metal fist flying into the wall with more than a little super soldier strength behind the punch. Tony had designed his labs to withstand any explosions that might accidentally occur so a punch, even one from a super soldier, wasn’t enough to damage the wall though it did cause both Steve and Tony to jump in surprise.

It wasn’t that they didn’t expect Bucky to be angry about everything that he was going through. In fact the man had taken everything that had happened to him with far more grace then either Steve or Tony could have possibly managed on their own. That fact however just made the explosion of anger all that much more powerful given how tightly Bucky normally kept control over his temper.

Before Steve had a chance to respond Tony was up out of his seat and over by Bucky’s side. A gentle hand was laid on Bucky’s shoulder where it could easily be brushed off if Bucky didn’t want the touch. Instead the soldier just leaned into it, turning to press his face into Tony’s shoulder in return.

“I hate this,” Bucky whispered just loud enough to be heard. “I hate all of this so damn much.”

“I know,” Tony whispered back, winding his arms around Bucky’s shoulders in a comforting hug while Steve came up and cupped the back of Bucky’s neck with one of his large palms. “I know you do Buckaroo. I just want to make it all better and this is the best way that I can come up with.”

Bucky stayed silent for a moment, doing nothing but taking comfort from his friends before breathing deeply and taking a step back.

“Okay,” he said. “Go ahead and call this doctor in. Let’s get these things out of my head once and for all.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone following this story enjoys the conclusion.

It hadn’t taken Tony very long to arrange a meeting between Dr. Strange and Bucky with him so that they could start trying to find a permanent solution to the triggers that Hydra had placed in Bucky's head. Steve had wanted to be there for the meeting but Bucky had eventually talked him out of it, to the point of threatening not to even meet with the doctor if Steve would be there.

It wasn’t that Bucky didn’t want his friend’s support. Knowing Steve was in his corner no matter what gave Bucky incredible amounts of strength to go through with all of this. However with nothing to punch, Steve would instead revert to worrying around like a mother hen and there was only so much of that, that Bucky could take without wanting to punch Steve himself. No, it was far better to meet with Dr. Strange with just Tony. Tony would be able to explain things to Bucky so that he could understand and while at the same time, still give the support that the soldier needed to get through all of this.

Stephen Strange had at first been skeptical about the whole thing, reminding Tony repeatedly that he while he retained his medical license, he was no longer a practicing physician and could not physically perform any operations. When the situation had been explained however Stephen’s professional curiosity had been piqued.

The doctor had examined scans of Bucky’s brain from before the first use of the B.A.R.F. technology, after the initial triggers has been removed, and the one taken when Bucky had been brought back to the tower unconscious from the last mission.

“There was extensive damage done to the neural pathways,” Stephen thought out loud as he looked over the scans. “It’s amazing how your brain was able to recover and repair the damage. I do believe without your version of the serum you would be lucky to be a vegetable at this point. From what I can see there is nothing physically wrong with your brain that would allow for others to control you. Therefore there is nothing that can be done from a surgical standpoint.”

Bucky’s face began to crumble at the declaration and Tony immediately reached out to take one of his hands between his own. He ran his thumbs over the knuckles to give Bucky something else to focus on.

“That’s okay though,” Tony said reassuringly. “We didn’t use surgery to get rid of the last set of trigger words either so this isn’t the end of the road.”

“Of course not,” Stephen said as though that were the most ridiculous thing he had heard all day. “While surgery does have its place in all things, it is not the first recourse that one would wish to take with something so delicate. There is however a spell that I know that would allow me access to your mind and to be able to alter memories as needed to remove the association between the words and the actions that they trigger. Your machine that you used to remove the previous words is similar in nature to what I will do. However instead of knowing exactly what memory I will be going after I will need to go deeper, to gaze through the time in which these triggers would have been placed in order to find them and remove them.

“I will see everything,” the doctor warned. “There will be nothing hidden from me with this spell. I am bound by my oath as a doctor to protect the confidentiality of my patients and will not reveal anything that I see. I give you my word that I will limit my search only to the time you were held against your will but I will still understand if that is unacceptable to you. I do warn however that without this, there will be no way of knowing for certain that all of the triggers have been found, let alone destroyed. The choice will of course be yours. Do you need some time to think about it?”

Bucky’s heart pounded in his chest at the depths to which he would be split open, vulnerable to another’s will and whims. He knew that Tony would have never called in someone that would hurt him like Hydra had but at the same time, he didn’t know the doctor. He had no way of knowing for certain if he would keep his word and no way of knowing if he would be able to stop the doctor if the man proved to be untrustworthy. Biting his lip, Bucky turned to look at Tony standing beside him.

“Will you stay with me?” Bucky asked quietly, not wanting to appear weak even though he knew he wouldn’t be judged for it but at the same time still desperately needing the support and comfort of having someone there for him.

Tony smiled, reached out and squeezed Bucky’s hand. “Nothing could possibly drag me away.”

The moment seemed to stretch out, lingering longer than the few seconds it actually lasted. There was so much being said in those few words, messages being conveyed that neither had spoken aloud just yet but wanted the other to know regardless. They were a hope and a promise of things to come once the danger was past. Something they were both looking forward to exploring more of once they had a moment to relax without threat of danger.

“Do it,” Bucky said simple, face the doctor straight on, his face hard and set.

“If you are ready,” Stephen said, holding his hands out in front of him, ready to begin the spell that would allow him access to Bucky’s mind. Ready to sift through his thoughts and memories, looking for the ones tainted by Hydra’s hold on him and burn that hold away so that no one held any claim over the man against his will any longer.

Bucky swallowed hard, hand clenching tightly around Tony’s to draw strength from his friend, and gave a sharp nod.

Stephen wasted no time, sweeping his hands through the air leaving behind golden trails in their wakes. The gold lines formed an intricate pattern that hung there, waiting, until Stephen stopped drawing and pushed them through the air straight at Bucky. The soldier tensed as the spell rushed at him but didn’t move away. When the golden lines hit Bucky they lingered for a moment before flaring and vanishing.

Tony stood there watching as the two other men froze in place. He might have almost thought they were statues except for the slightest rise and fall of their chests to show that they were still breathing. Time dragged on with no visual indications as to what was happening within Bucky’s mind. Tony could only imagine how Steve must be feeling right then not being in the room because he was worrying himself sick and he was standing right there next to Bucky.

Twelves minutes came and went with no visible change in either man but Tony waited, holding onto Bucky’s hand to give the soldier an anchor to hold onto through the twisting hurricane that was his mind right then. The first indication that everything was over was when Dr. Strange let out a sigh as his own hands dropped back down to his sides. Bucky’s fingers twitched against Tony’s and he swayed on his feet.

Tony’s arm immediately came up to wrap around Bucky’s shoulders to hold him steady until he wasn’t in danger of sinking to the ground. It took a minute but once Bucky had his feet under him again he gave Tony a nod and stood up straight, facing Stephen.

“So that’s it? They’re all gone now? You’re sure of it?” Bucky asked and if there was a note of desperation in his voice then neither of the other two men choose to comment on it.

“They are all gone,” Stephen confirmed. “The one that was used on you during your last mission was the last one and I removed it. I found no others while I was searching and I give you my word that I will keep my silence about everything I saw while I was in your mind. Your memories are yours and not mine to speak of without your permission.”

With a final nod to the two of them, Stephen opened a portal in the middle of the lab and stepped through back into the New York Sanctum. When the portal closed up behind the doctor, Bucky took in a large breath and let it go slowly, letting his body relax as he did.

“It’s over. They’ve got no more hold over me. I’m free,” Bucky said with an edge of wonder to his voice. “I’m free!”

The last bit was shouted as Bucky grabbed Tony around the waist, lifting him up and spinning the two of them in circles. Tony didn’t have time to reorient himself because the moment he was set back down on his feet Bucky was dipping him and planting a firm kiss right on his mouth. It took Tony a second for his brain to catch up with the sudden turn of events but as soon as it did he was all on board, kissing Bucky back for all that he was worth.

Gradually the kiss came to an end and Bucky pulled Tony back up onto his feet. The two of them stood there in each other’s space, Bucky’s hands still at Tony’s waist while Tony’s had found their way up around Bucky’s shoulders. Even with the kiss being over neither made any move to step away, both swept away with the joy of the moment.

“So that happened,” Tony said. “Just for the record, was that kiss just a celebration of being free from the triggers or something more?”

“Something more. Definitely something more,” Bucky assured. “That is, as long as something more is what you want too.”

“Absolutely,” Tony was quick to reply. “I’d love nothing more than to have something more with you.”

The smile Bucky gave was bright enough to light up the room before he leaned down and captured Tony’s lips in a soft but sweet kiss. He had gone from an incredible low of finding himself at the mercy of a new link to Hydra to the high of finally being free from the terrorists and having Tony return his affections. His mind was finally free and now he could focus on his heart and Bucky couldn’t be happier with the one he was choosing to share it with.


End file.
